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6 . PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, July 7, 1992 "Scugog's Community Newspaper of Choice" The Port Perry Star 188 MARY STREET - PORT PERRY, ONTARIO - LOL 1B7 EDITORIAL Publisher - J. Peter Hvidsten News Editor - Scott Anderson BUSINESS OFFICE Office Manager - Gayle Stapley Accounting - Judy Ashby -- PHONE (416) 985-7383 FAX (416) 985-3708 The Port Perry Star is authorized as second class mail by the Post Office Department, Ottawa, for cash payment of postage. Second Class Mail Registration Number 0265 Subscription Rate: 6Months-$17.72 includes $1 22GST RIBBON AWARD 1992 1Year-$32.10 Foreign -$90.95 includes $2.10GST includes $5.95GST Features Editor - Julia Dempsey Sports Co-ordinator - Kelly Lown Reporter/Photographer - Marnie Luke ADVERTISING Advertising Manager - Anna Jackman Advertising Sales - Jackie Metz Production -PamelaHickey, BarbaraBell Barbara Lachapelle PRODUCTION Billing Department - Louise Hope Retail Sales - Kathy Dudley Annabell Harrison, Trudy Empringham Robert Taylor, Marlene Moore, Member of the Canadian Community Newspaper Association ~ Ontario Community Newspaper Association Published every Tuesday by the Port Perry Star Co. Ltd. Port Perry, Ontario * GST included in price t Editorial Comment ~ Not Ailing Co Community Memorial Hospital has cleared another hurdle In its way concerning the major building expansion project. The hospital board received the go-ahead to advance to the next stage of the $5.2-million expansion project, which are the working drawings. The expansion calls for an additional 20,000 square feet to be added to the west side of the building. The addition will in- clude rehabilitation, laboratory, health records, radiology, emer- gency and ambulatory care areas. The addition will feature the first Labor Delivery Recovery Postpartum rooms in. the region. The project will also feature numerous renovations to the hospi- tal. According to Doctor Bob Allin, Chief of Staff, there is a real. need for the expansion and it couldn't have come at a better time. There has been a significant rise in the number of emer- gency cases at the hospital, and the number of patients has ris- en over the past number of years as well. According to figures released by the hospital approximately 71.7 per cent of all the patients to the hospital come from Scug Victoria County, 5.2 per cent from Brock and 4.6 per cent from Oshawa. The remainder are from other areas of the region, the province and country. The expansion, which is expected to take 18 months, has a budget of $5.2 million. To date $2.4 million has been committed to the project by the Ontario Ministry of Health. The remaining J $2.8 is being raised through local funding and other fundraising" activities. The community has opened its hearts and its purse strings to the hospital, one which truly serves its community. Although the needed money has been realized, there is always a need for more funds. At a time when hospitals are closing down beds and laying off staff due to minimal transfer payment, there is a tremendous need to supplement what little money medical facil- ities are receiving. . » Find it in your hearts to contribute ge even a few dollars, to the future development of the spital. There ar many various activities throughout the year which benefit t hospital, including Festival Days' "Best West" Contest. Let's all contribute. You never know when you'll need it. Garbage Accusation It's apparent the blame for Scugog's garbage woes has widened and is now the fault of the local media as well. That's according to some residents of Durham. The local media came under attack at a recent public infor- mation meeting in Port Perry sponsored by PEST (Preservation of the Environment of Scugeg Township). Some residents at- tacked the local media for not taking an active role in the fight against the five proposed landfill sites in Scugog. A resident pointed the finger at a Star reporter and announced the media was "not doing its job." Although we cannot speak for the other media organiza- tions in the area, we can state that we are in fact doing our job. Since the Interim Waste Authority announced the start of the site search in August 1991, the Port Perry Star has followed the issue closely. The Star was in Toronto on June 4 when the an- nouncement of the five sites were announced. It has followed the developments very closely since that date and has attended every meeting as well as providing free publicity to upcoming meetings and rallies. We have also served as a forum for the concerned resident's comments in the form of letters to the edi- tor. It is the responsibility of a newspaper to gather the news (from both sides), interpret it and report it fairly to its readers. This has been done by the staff of the Port Perry Star throughout the garbage debate. We will not change our method of reporting to appease the emotional few. in the four weeks since the announcement occurred, the Port Perry Star has published eight articles, two editorials, a number of pictures and numerous letters to the editor concerning the garbage issue. We have also provided free publicity to up- coming meetings, rallies and fundraisers. It is both unfair and unfounded to accuse the Port Perry Star of not "doing its job." , 12 per cent are from alii ~~ 2 -- TA ) ow ( <I folk is RoN MCLEAN pith ; Te [ PoN CHERRY - Live From RR Perey -- IT kNow iT NoT Hockey GRAPES But WHAT Do you SENT WNK ABOUT vA ALL This 1 community A> ] ---- eee" | cr 4 S---- LAY TEE smm------ [) a /, vi POPULAR EVENT Palmer Park was transformed into a sea of smiling faces last Wednesday evening for the annual Canada Day celebrations. The normally tranquil greenbelt along Port Perry's lakefront was jam-packed with people of all ages decked out with painted faces, balloons, flags, T-shirts and other pro- Canadian items, to take part in the pre- fireworks entertainment. During the day, the Optimist Club, 1st Scugog Cubs and Scouts, and Friends of the Library sold hot and cold refreshments to the crowd. Children received free Canadian flags, helium inflated balloons and lined up to have their faces painted with a Maple Leaf or other symbols. The opening ceremonies, which took place on a stage located near the new flagpole in Palmer Park included the flag raising during the singing of O'Canada, brief comments by the mayor, Chamber of Commerce officials and the reading of a letter from the Prime Minister' of Canada. Entertainment for the evening was provided by Scottish dancer Jennifer Blackburn, and Elastic Band, a group of local musicians. But the highlight of the evening was the fireworks display which an estimated 5,000 people crowded into the park and many more watched from their boats in the middle of the lake. The sounds of "oooooohhh" and "aaawwww" echoed across the park through- out the night as cach new firework ex-ploded into spectacular color over Lake Scugog. When the grand finale finally burst in the black sky, an appreciative crowd choered and clapped spontancously before packing up their lawn chairs and blankets and heading back home. . The annual Canada Day fireworks display has been taking place for about 10 years in Port Perry, organized and partly funded by the Scugog Chamber of Commerce. Government grants, which were made available years ago to small communities to encourage local celebrations, have all but been climinated and almost the entire expense of Canada Day celebrations is now dependent on local organizations and the township to fund. It's not cheap! Wednesday night's entertainment and fireworks display is estimated to have cost approximately $8,000 to stage, plus the volunteer time of many people to ogranize the event. This year, the Scugog Chamber of Commerce was fortunate to have a number of local groups assist it, without which the Chamber would not have been able to keep the Canada Day celebrations going. On behalf of the all the residents of this community and those from other areas who attended and enjoyed the spectular fireworks display, the Star would like to say thanks to the following groups - the Kinsmen Club, Knights of Columbus, Rotary Club, Lions Club, Oddfellows, Business Improvement Arca, Scugog Chamber of Commerce and Township of Scugog, who all helped to make the evening one that area youngsters will remember for weeks to come. The extremely large attendance at the Canada Day fireworks seems to indicate the cvent is one of the most popular which take place in the community during the year. Only through the co-operation of Scugog's many community organizations can this event, under the direction of the Chamber of Commerce, expect to be continued. We hope that other organizations will see the value in uniting lacal residents for one evening a year to celebrate this country of ours and delight the thousands of local kids and adults who enjoy the fireworks. I'm sure the Chamber would be happy to hear from any group willing to assist in the financial burden of this event next year. Canada Day in Scugog proved to be a terrific celelebration and I, like many others, look forward to it again next year.